Lajos Haynald

Cardinal, Archbishop of Kalocsa-Bács
in Hungary; b. at Szécsény, 3 October, 1816; d. at
Kalocsa, 3 July, 1891. Having completed his studies in the
secondary schools, he entered the Emericianum at Pozsony
(Presburg) in 1830, remaining there for one year. He studied
philosophy at Nagyszombat (Tyrnau) in 1831, theology at Vienna in
1833; entered Holy orders on 15 October, 1839, and received the
degree of Doctor of Theology in 1841. After a brief period spent
in the care of souls, he became professor of theology at the
seminary at Gran in 1842. The prince-primate, Kopácsy,
appointed him his secretary in 1846, but before he had entered
upon the duties of that office, dispatched him abroad to study the
training of pastors and ecclesiastical administration. Haynald
probably was the first Hungarian to study such subjects in foreign
countries. He applied himself to these questions with especial
diligence in Paris, where he passed most of the time that he spent
on his mission. On his return he was appointed chancellor-director
to the prince-primate, early in 1848. When the Hungarian
parliament proclaimed the independence of Hungary on 14 April,
1849, Haynald refused to publish this declaration. The consequence
was that he lost his position, whereupon he returned to his
birth-place Szécsény. At the close of the
Revolutionary War he was restored to his office; on 15 September,
1851, he was appointed coadjutor to the Bishop of Transylvania,
Nicholas Kovács, whom he succeeded on 15 October, 1852. On
the publication of the October diploma, in 1860, Haynald became
one of the champions of the union of Transylvania with Hungary.
His political opinions and activity thereupon brought him into
conflict with the Viennese Government. Count Francis Nádasdy,
head of the Transylvanian Chancellery, accused Haynald of
disloyalty. Haynald went to Vienna and presented a memorial in
which he set forth his political views. Notwithstanding this, the
dissensions between the Government and Haynald continued, and
resulted in Haynald's resignation in 1864. Pius IX summoned him to
Rome and appointed him titular Archbishop of Carthage.

Until 1867 he laboured in Rome, where
he did valuable work as a member of the Congregation of
Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. After the restoration of the
Hungarian constitution, Haynald was appointed Archbishop of
Kalocsa-Bács, in 1867, at the instance of Baron Joseph
Eötvös. He played an important part in the Vatican
Council of 1870, being, with George Strossmayer, Bishop of Diaková
r, one of the foremost opponents of the dogma of Infallibility,
although he submitted to the decree of the council. Leo XIII made
Haynald a cardinal in 1879. As bishop and archbishop, he aimed
chiefly to maintain ecclesiastical discipline and to raise the
standard of studies in the public schools. His pious bequests
amounted to nearly five millions of gulden. While still a young
priest he devoted himself earnestly to the study of botany and
made a large collection of plants and of books, which subsequently
came into the possession of the Hungarian National Museum. The
Hungarian Academy of Sciences made him an honorary member in
recognition of his scientific work.